The Task Force was created in December 2004 by then Chairman Joe A. Martinez to determine if the County's overall operations and procurement process, was effective and efficient when compared to a set of best practice standards. As a part  of its mandate, the task force was directed to develop a set of criteria that could be used to identify a well functioning municipality; to evaluate municipalities across the country against those criteria; to take into consideration the roles of elected and appointed officials; and to conduct a five-year review of the County's procurement process.

Customer service, strategic planning and organizational performance, information technology, and human resources and financial management were some of the aspects that were studied to establish the panel's benchmarking criteria.  The commissioners also looked for guidance from institutions dedicated to performance excellence, such as the Baldridge National Quality Program and Florida Sterling Council for Organizational Excellence.

The report notes that the Board of County Commissioners generally defers to the county manager on matters of procurement -- overturning his decisions only six times in five years, during which approximately 4,000 procurement items were approved.  It outlines improvements Miami-Dade County has made over the past few years; citing a number of procurement changes shepherded by Commissioner Rebeca Sosa. It also recommends several changes to the Community Periodicals Program and the Sunset Review process for County Boards.

Notably, the Task Force's review of other municipal structures revealed that more than 92 million people live in cities or counties with council-manager governments like Miami-Dade County.  As of 2006, this form of government is the most popular form of governance and is in place in just under 50 percent of municipalities with populations over 2,500.  This percentage has been on the rise for almost a decade.

The report also includes a comparative discussion of the council-manager and the strong mayor forms of government written by Commissioner Moss.

The Governmental Task Force was made up of commissioners Dennis C. Moss, Rebeca Sosa, Natacha Seijas and Sally A. Heyman.  The resolution establishing the panel offered a fifth seat to the county's mayor.

To read the executive summary and report, visit Commissioner Moss' website at http://www.miamidade.gov/District09.